Enable’s Vision for B2B Incentives: Building the Next DocuSign
Every great company starts with an ambitious vision. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Enable CEO Andrew Butt revealed how they plan to evolve from a rebate management solution into the industry standard for B2B incentives, following DocuSign’s path to category dominance.
The Platform Vision “Every B2B company has different types of incentive agreements with its partners, with its suppliers, with its customers, and we want to be the definitive platform that everyone uses,” Andrew explains. This isn’t just about managing rebates – it’s about becoming the foundation for all B2B trading relationships.
From Point Solution to Standard The comparison to DocuSign isn’t casual. “Just like DocuSign is the standard for Esignature, we want to be the standard for any B2B incentive,” Andrew shares. This vision informs every aspect of their strategy, from product development to go-to-market approach.
Making Enterprise Software Accessible Enable’s path to becoming a standard starts with accessibility. “Being modern cloud software, it’s very much on demand, so we’re making it very accessible, very easy, very kind of fast time to value so the cloud principles can apply to this new space,” Andrew notes. This focus on ease of use has been crucial to their rapid adoption.
Building Network Effects Their expansion strategy leverages natural network effects. “We started focusing entirely on distributors and then it was actually through network effect that we got into the manufacturers,” Andrew reveals. This organic growth has helped them expand to over 10,000 companies while maintaining 150% year-over-year growth.
Geographic Expansion The numbers behind their vision are ambitious. From their current base in five countries, Andrew aims to expand to “maybe 100 countries in five years.” This global presence will be crucial for becoming the industry standard.
Beyond Transaction Management Enable envisions evolving into “a platform where companies can manage their existing trading relationships and also discover new trading relationships and new incentive opportunities.” This transformation from tool to ecosystem could fundamentally reshape how B2B companies structure their partnerships.
The Silicon Valley Advantage Location has been crucial to executing this vision. “Being here has helped…in terms of talent, some of the people we’ve brought on board, very skilled operators that have achieved hypergrowth before, and we wouldn’t have kind of bumped into them just in anywhere,” Andrew reflects.
The ecosystem’s understanding of category creation has been equally important. “Investors here really understand, again, how to build a really big company of consequence, which does involve investment and spending money. And that’s something which isn’t really understood in other parts of the world.”
The Growth Trajectory The numbers validate their approach. From 80 people to 450 in just two and a half years, with over 10,000 companies now using their platform. But perhaps more importantly, Enable isn’t just growing – they’re expanding the entire category. Their platform has become a catalyst for companies launching rebate programs who previously hadn’t considered them.
Lessons for Founders Enable’s journey offers valuable insights for founders aiming to build industry standards:
- Make enterprise software as accessible as consumer apps
- Design for network effects from day one
- Focus on mainstream adoption, not just early adopters
- Build a platform that enables discovery, not just transactions
- Think globally from the start
From their current base of 10,000 companies, Andrew aims to reach “a million in five years.” It’s an ambitious goal, but Enable’s track record of execution and clear strategic vision suggests they’re well on their way to becoming the industry standard for B2B incentives.
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